EFC SUBMISSIONS ON “REVIEW OF

LABOUR LEGISLATION IN SRI LANKA”

 

At a time when Sri Lanka is enjoying the fragrance of peace and the government of Sri Lanka is promoting foreign direct investment, it is extremely important for us to review our labour legislation framework and determine as to whether it complements competitiveness and sustainability of enterprises.

 

The Sri Lankan labour law framework, which was heavily influenced by English law (for obvious reasons), has continued without any significant modifications in comparison with the changes that have taken place in the global business environment.

One of the main drawbacks that we could identify in relation to industrial relations has been the enthusiasm on the part of policy makers to introduce legislation whenever confronted with an industrial relations issue. As a result, we have inherited a highly regulated labour relations framework which is not consistent with the economic policies of a developing country. In the light of the above, we would like to make some specific comments/recommendations with regard to some of the more important pieces of legislation which requires urgent review/amendment. We also wish to comment on some of the proposals the Labour authorities have made in relation to superannuation for private sector employees. Our proposals and observations are set out below.